CO OTC success

[CMack376]

Anyone find success these first two weeks? This week was some tough hunting for my group. Tons of old sign and followed with no bugles.

 

[Wapiti66]

Pretty sure nobody wants to report any success in an OTC unit. Didn’t hunt this year but that has been the trend for that area.

 

[CMack376]

Pretty sure nobody wants to report any success in an OTC unit. Didn’t hunt this year but that has been the trend for that area.

It was worth a shot. Ppl get there panties too in bunch. Just wondering if anyone got into elk in unit or if it was a trend unit wide to see tons of old sign and quite elk. It could also be that i suck at elk hunting be it was my first time.

 

[TR909]

It was worth a shot. Ppl get there panties too in bunch. Just wondering if anyone got into elk in unit or if it was a trend unit wide to see tons of old sign and quite elk. It could also be that i suck at elk hunting be it was my first time.

It was tricky in the part of 53 that I was hunting this year. Places that I normally find sign and critters, I did not. Same for 521 to a degree. Very quiet too. Heard my first bugle this morning and it very well could have been a hunter.

 

[Wapiti66]

I’m not saying you shouldn’t ask, just saying don’t expect success stories on named OTC units. It’s not people getting there panties in a bunch, it’s the simple fact that advertising success in a named OTC unit will guarantee that more people will be there next year. The more people hunt the unit, the more pressure, the quality of the hunt declines. I know a man that hunted that unit for over 20 years, he said a famous magazine wrote an article on said unit being good, and it rapidly declined ever since. He doesn’t even hunt there anymore because the hunter pressure and lack of elk. People may post stories about their OTC success, but they will not let units be known and for good reason.

 

[CMack376]

I’m not saying you shouldn’t ask, just saying don’t expect success stories on named OTC units. It’s not people getting there panties in a bunch, it’s the simple fact that advertising success in a named OTC unit will guarantee that more people will be there next year. The more people hunt the unit, the more pressure, the quality of the hunt declines. I know a man that hunted that unit for over 20 years, he said a famous magazine wrote an article on said unit being good, and it rapidly declined ever since. He doesn’t even hunt there anymore because the hunter pressure and lack of elk. People may post stories about their OTC success, but they will not let units be known and for good reason.

Not here to argue. If you dont want to leave feedback dont. Its that simple.

 

[spike camp]

Not here to argue. If you dont want to leave feedback dont. Its that simple.

He did leave feedback, and one that is important for people to understand.

 

[WTFJohn]

Not here to argue. If you dont want to leave feedback dont. Its that simple.

Are you planning on coming back to CO next year? Making any scouting trips in the summer? Doing any escouting? If yes to any, go ahead and post all that info in this thread; one of the dozens of lurkers watching will probably be nice enough to bring you hot coffee and a baguette when you get to your prime glassing spot.

You should search for posts on neighboring units here; at one point info was posted about some of those units. Now a lot of that’s posted is non residents asking about success or if people even saw elk. It’s that simple.

 

[StillBald]

I've been in that unit and a few others nearby this week. Haven't heard a bugle yet. Bumped a couple of cows the other day, but the woods are silent. Super frustrating

 

[CMack376]

Are you planning on coming back to CO next year? Making any scouting trips in the summer? Doing any escouting? If yes to any, go ahead and post all that info in this thread; one of the dozens of lurkers watching will probably be nice enough to bring you hot coffee and a baguette when you get to your prime glassing spot.

You should search for posts on neighboring units here; at one point info was posted about some of those units. Now a lot of that’s posted is non residents asking about success or if people even saw elk. It’s that simple.

Way to read through the lines. You deserve a pat on the back. Never once did i ask for GPS coordinates to your honey hole. Just a simple any luck out there. Harvest stats are obtainable by anyone after the season. Plus i dont give two shits about the units i was next too. I wasn't there. I did tons of research on this unit and settled on that being the unit i wanted to go too. Just wondering if the sign i seen was common or if i dont know shit about elk hunting, which very well could be the case.

 

[CMack376]

I've been in that unit and a few others nearby this week. Haven't heard a bugle yet. Bumped a couple of cows the other day, but the woods are silent. Super frustrating

Same thing we ran into minus the cows. We seen some good sign. They just had us beat at hide and seek.

 

[Studs1991]

I'll chime in with information from a different, unnamed OTC unit in Colorado. I also saw a lot of good, but older sign. Sometimes it seemed like it could've been a few days old, other times a few weeks or months. I saw elk, but never heard any bugling. If I were to attack this area a different way, I would not hunt it during muzzleloader season, but rather hunt it the opening weekend. Just my two cents.
I know everybody likes to talk about hunting pressure causing these elk to act weary, but maybe it's also time to have the conversation what this major droughts are doing biologically to these elk herds. The feed was way worse this year... felt like I was walking into a treestand on a cold November morning.

 

[CMack376]

I'll chime in with information from a different, unnamed OTC unit in Colorado. I also saw a lot of good, but older sign. Sometimes it seemed like it could've been a few days old, other times a few weeks or months. I saw elk, but never heard any bugling. If I were to attack this area a different way, I would not hunt it during muzzleloader season, but rather hunt it the opening weekend. Just my two cents.
I know everybody likes to talk about hunting pressure causing these elk to act weary, but maybe it's also time to have the conversation what this major droughts are doing biologically to these elk herds. The feed was way worse this year... felt like I was walking into a treestand on a cold November morning.

Yes all the meadows we checked were brown, no green grass in any of the areas we looked. Found one killer water hole that was straight torn up, but old sign. Seems like one week earlier possibly two and it would have been killer!! We also got screwed over by the sheep. Sheep everywhere at the second area we hunted.